Mini Split Installation in Alamogordo, NM
A new system here will heat from October through April and cool from June through September every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Otero County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work a year in Alamogordo
Your mini-split will run almost year round here. Winter nights average 28°F from December through February, and the heat pump needs to keep pulling warmth out of that cold air for all seven months of the heating season, October through April. Then summer afternoons average 89°F, and the same unit switches to cooling for four more months, June through September. Only one month off in between.
Any mini-split installed new has to clear the federal minimum for a split-system heat pump, 14.3 SEER2 for cooling and 7.5 HSPF2 for heating. In a place that asks for both sides of that rating almost the whole year, the unit doesn't get much of a break to make up for a weak year.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 4 months
- June through September, it cools
- 28°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
New Mexico requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license comes from the Construction Industries Division, and it covers the contractor, not each individual job. The state tested and keeps a record of the contractor, but that license does not mean someone from the state checks this particular mini-split once it is on the wall.
That check comes from the local building office instead. A mini-split installation typically needs a permit, with an inspection once the work is done. That inspection is what looks at the actual job in your home, the refrigerant lines, the wiring, the mounting, separate from whatever the state already knows about the contractor's license.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- Is a mini split worth it?
- For most homes here, yes. A mini split heats and cools without ducts. It covers what this climate asks for. Homes here need heat from October through April and cooling through the summer, when afternoons average 89°F. Winter nights average 28°F here, and a mini split built for cold climates keeps working at those temperatures. Whether it makes sense for your house depends on the layout and what you have now, so a contractor should walk through that with you before you decide.
- How many rooms can a mini split cover?
- A single outdoor unit can run more than one indoor head, so it can cover several rooms at once. These are called multi-zone systems, and each indoor head gets its own thermostat. How many rooms yours can cover depends on the size of the outdoor unit and the heating and cooling load of each room. A contractor works that out room by room, not by a fixed rule.
- Can a mini split heat a whole house?
- It can, if it is sized and placed for the whole house rather than one or two rooms. A multi-zone system with an indoor head in each main room can carry the heating load through the winter here, including the nights that drop to 28°F, as long as the outdoor unit is rated for that cold and sized for the house. Getting that right takes a load calculation on the actual house, which is a contractor's job, not a guess from square footage alone.